Archive for October, 2016

Nicolas Cole, Inc. (from INC magazine) Sep. 24, 2016, 11:00 AM (if you would like to have more detail from this article contact me and I’ll email it to you. Ed)

Success is a game of habits. In itself, “success” is a relative term, and so its “achievement” is fully dependent upon the habits you put into place that move you step by step toward the “end” you define for yourself.

To be “successful,” it becomes a matter of the routine you put into place for yourself. Whenever you are looking outward, for example, it is very clear the difference between those who create positive daily habits for themselves versus the people who let life’s waves dictate their day to day.

Remember: You are the surfer. It’s up to you to ride the waves based on where it is you want to go, versus letting them carry you where they will.

Successful people plan ahead. Failure to prepare is the act of preparing to fail.

Successful people do the hard stuff first. Lazy people have a knack for getting done all the things that are not true priorities. But when it comes to the hard stuff, they suddenly find every reason why they could not complete the task.

Successful people say no. If you want to go your own way, be prepared to piss a lot of people off.

Successful people invest in themselves. Both in terms of time and money, successful people see life through a lens of investment.

Successful people surround themselves with other successful people. Your network is your net worth. The true value of having a network is not access to “things.” It’s access to habits and thought processes you would otherwise struggle to create on your own.

Successful people study their craft. I blame school for this, honestly.

Successful people are accountable for their actions. Lazy people point the finger at others and make excuses for why things didn’t happen. Successful people own up to the weight of their actions and take accountability for their own shortcomings.

Successful people believe in themselves. Lazy people want others to believe in them before they believe in themselves.

There are a few very simple steps to follow to schedule your time and have a great day. Do them daily, and you’ll have a great week. That’s not what we’ll cover here.

We want to know how to maximize the first hour of the day!(or so) so we get a great start to the day and keep it going. Here goes:

Alarm goes off. No snooze button. Before your feet hit the floor say this verbatim, “This is going to be a great day for me.” That’s it. That’s all you have to do to set your mind and start the engine correctly. But there’s more. 14 seconds

Wash your face or whatever you do for the morning wake up ritual. Shake out the cobwebs of the night and get things going. 35 seconds

No email, no social media. This is ‘me time’ and not they time. Read your goals. Surely you set goals and are working on them. Do email at the office. 2 minutes

Write 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 30 days. Simple goals. But important. Do this every day. 4 minutes

Meditate, pray. Connect with a higher power. It’s the only way. Clear your mind. Be with yourself. De-clutter. 10 minutes.

Eat a small piece of fruit. Apple, banana whatever. On the way to workout.

Exercise routine. Whatever it is. 1 hour minimum.

Get your morning nutrition. 30 minutes

Read something worthwhile with your breakfast: spiritual, news, schedule for the day, but still not emails. Get on those when you begin your day in the office.

Get to your day. Tackle the one thing that you really don’t want to do. It’s called “Eat the Big Green Frog.”

We have time for all of these actions. Add up the times. This ain’t difficult.

My great friend in life is in emergency surgery. Right now. Scott Hindsley and I go back to our entry into Infantry Officer Basic Course in 1972. He needs your prayers. It’s eye surgery. Probably not life threatening, but very serious. I hope this isn’t the wrong way to use Social Media. My buddy needs you, now. Thank you. Ed

That reminder comes along a little more frequently than I’d like. Yep, it’s a function of time. That’s one way of saying ‘age.’

We can watch relatively young-year-olds retire and within a few years look like they’ve been pulled through a keyhole. Then a 90-year old gets her college degree, climbs Mt. Tall As Hell, learns to play a musical instrument. What’s the difference.

Best I can tell it’s several things and I’m going to give you a list. The great thing is…you can start on the list now, any time, at any age. So, go ahead.

Give yourself an Attitude boost and chose to be a Fountain, not a Drain.

Read, educate yourself, learn something new every day, teach someone.

Eat right, exercise, walk, watch the sunrise and set.

Avoid the negative people, media, events. Just get the heck away from them.

Turn off your TV. See above.

Listen to the birds. You heard right. Watch them. You’ll feel better in about 7 seconds.

Do you need it for internal communications as well as your Marketing programs?

Then start with the answer to: SO WHAT?

Do you have a major reason to “Get to Yes” with a client or prospect? Something like make the sale, or authorize an agreement?

What would it mean to you to have the “ok” from an investor or banker to fund your project? Could it put you on the road to success?

How would it make you feel if you could gather 100% support for your plan from your team?

The answer to these and other questions is apparent when we begin our communication by addressing the audience’s question…”SO WHAT”. What is in it for them? This is where we appeal to their emotions vs. trying to convince them with logic, facts or charts.

From the book, “So What?” by Mark Magnacca we are reminded that “the people you are trying to communicate with, sell to, or reach don’t really care about you, or what you have to offer, until they know how what you have can benefit them.” “If you help enough people get what they want, by showing or explaining how what you have can benefit them, you can have anything you want.”

Most of us believe that “I” have to communicate “my” message because it is “important.” It’s all about us. When, in fact, it’s all about them.

We are told it’s all about what we say, how we look, the quality of our collateral materials, how smart we are……

So, we tell people about “my product, my service, my idea…..” And that worked well for a long time. Now, we can ask Mr. Google anything we want to know about your product, who else sells it, where I can get it on-line, and more. We have to give people the SO WHAT answer first.

Learn to identify the emotion that will move your audience. We have to get away from what we think our words, facts, logic and pictures should say or show someone.

We have to ask ourselves “what is the purpose of my presentation or message?”

“Why should they care?”

“What benefits will they receive?”

We may have to grind down and down and down to be sure we are answering the WHY at the most basic and desired level of our audience.

Focus on what your audience needs to hear vs. what you want to say. “People don’t go to the hardware store to buy a quarter-inch drill. They go because they want to make quarter-inch holes.” (Harvard professor, Ted Levitt) Deliver the end result.

The ability to communicate what we need and want is critical to our business survival …and survival in our other forms of existence. Understanding the So What factor for all of our messages Gets Us to Yes. Then we complete the cycle of What We Want to What We Get.